Herman Quirmbach
The Iowa Senate has rejected a bill that would have awarded a state tax break for the proposed “Prospect Meadows” baseball complex in Linn County.
Senator Herman Quirmback, a Democrat from Ames, says giving the project millions of dollars in sales tax rebates would diverts taxes better spent elsewhere.
“Ball fields are great,” Quirmbach said. “Love baseball, but I think we have other, higher responsibilities.”
Senator Tod Bowman, a Democrat from Maquoketa, says “Prospect Meadows” will compete for already-scarce tourism dollars.
“We don’t want to incentivize projects that just shuffle around Iowa’s discretionary spending dollars,” Bowman said.
“Prospect Meadows” developers hope to build 16 baseball diamonds and host tournaments featuring major league prospects. Twenty-two senators approved of the sales tax rebate for the project, but it needed four more “yes” votes to pass. The bill may be revived later this week for another vote.
A few years ago legislators approved a sales tax rebate for a proposed “Field of Dreams” complex in Dyersville, but that project has stalled.